Before Ahri woke up, she felt someone pulling and tugging at her, as if trying to make her run away.
Hurry, hurry, my dad and the others are coming!
Ahri was dragged outside with her eyes closed.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Ahri felt as if her whole body was leaking air; she was cold everywhere.
Before Ah Li could react, the man pulled her into a nearby haystack to hide.
There was a strong smell of hay in the large haystack, but it was a bit warmer.
The person pulling Ahri was the original owner of the body, a pitiful little thing. Not only was she deaf and mute, but because there were five children in her family, she was the only maid. She was always hungry and cold, and she did a lot of dirty and tiring work.
The village where the original owner lived was very remote, and the phenomenon of valuing sons over daughters was very serious. Many men in this village could not find wives, so they kept their daughters, either exchanging them with neighbors or keeping them at home for their own consumption.
"Where is that brat?"
"Father, do you really mean we should keep that girl at home?"
“Otherwise, it costs you three taels of silver to marry a wife, and your other brothers also need to marry. It’s better to keep the girl at home. If you don’t tell anyone, who will know that the girl has become your wife?”
"But Old Zhang at the village entrance said he was willing to pay three qian of silver to marry the girl."
"What can three qian of silver do? At most, one tael."
The people inside the room made no attempt to hide their presence; the "girl" they were referring to was the original owner of this body.
Ahri looked at the original owner who was still clinging to her. He looked very thin and dark-skinned, but his bone structure was excellent.
Tears streamed down the original owner's face as she gestured for Ahri to run away quickly, otherwise they would really harm her.
Ahri raised her hand and patted the original owner's face, silently moving her lips, "Okay, I'll escape."
The night was so dark that no one could see anything. Ah Li carefully crouched down and, without even looking where she was going, started running.
The original owner watched Ahri run away, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't had time to escape and was killed by the person she knew and loved most...
The next day, she hanged herself with a belt.
As a result, they not only did not regret their actions, but also used her corpse to arrange ghost marriages.
Some people in the village keep dogs. Ah Li can't hear the sounds around him. It's very quiet, as if the whole world has quieted down.
Ahri dared not stop; she needed to leave the village as soon as possible.
Before I knew it, dawn had broken.
Ahri discovered an oxcart parked by the roadside, with half a cart of hay on it.
Ahri looked around and, seeing no one, parted the hay and hid inside.
After an unknown amount of time, the oxcart started moving.
Ahri clenched her fists nervously, trying to stay hidden and not make a sound.
Whether it was the warmth of the haystack or the comfort of the swaying oxcart, Ahri fell asleep.
When Ahri felt a sudden bright light, she raised her hand to block out the light and found three people standing in front of her. One of them was holding a handful of withered yellow grass, which was obviously taken from Ahri's head.
"Big brother, do you know him?"
Xue Erniu looked at Xue Daniu and said, "Goodness, you're not really a country bumpkin. Why did you bring back a village girl?"
Ahri sat up in fear. She looked at the three people in front of her and gestured carefully. She couldn't hear or speak, but she would walk by herself.
Xue Xiaoniu, holding the hay, said, "This person is saying that she can't hear or speak, and she's leaving."
"You understand?" Xue Erniu looked at Xue Xiaoniu.
Xue Xiaoniu said, "She's already shown it all, how could she not understand?"
Xue Daniu was deep in thought. They had a mission to keep them in the village. This person couldn't hear or speak, so keeping him around to cover for them wasn't a bad idea.
These three people—Xue Daniu, Xue Erniu, and Xue Xiaoniu—are not actually called Xue Daniu, but they have come here incognito to secretly protect the prince and princess who have been switched at birth.
The Empress was framed and given poisoned wine by the Emperor. The Crown Prince and Princess, who should have been poisoned as well, were rescued by some veteran officials and sent to this remote and impoverished area.
The three of them consisted of a general with a large army, a strategist, and the young master of the prime minister's family, who had come to join in the fun.
They lived in the village and occasionally helped the prince and princess, but they didn't let them know their identities. They simply acted as if they were from the same village, looking after each other.
Seeing that Ah Li was quite thin, Xue Xiaoniu stopped her, gesturing and waving his hands at her, saying, "Stay here, we're getting married soon, stay here and be our shared wife."
Ahri shook her head. No, you can't.
Xue Erniu watched Ah Li without showing any emotion, then suddenly shouted loudly behind Ah Li.
Xue Daniu and Xue Xiaoniu were both startled. Xue Xiaoniu shouted at Xue Erniu, "What are you doing! You scared me to death!"
Xue Erniu then looked at Ah Li and said, "You really can't hear me."
Because Ah Li was still facing Xue Xiaoniu; she didn't turn around, nor was she frightened.
Xue Xiaoniu said, "Let's keep her as our shared wife. Otherwise, the little princess will always think that our kindness towards her means we have feelings for her, and she will hate it when we get close to her."
Xue Erniu walked up to Xue Xiaoniu, pinched his ear and said, "I told you not to reveal that person's identity in front of outsiders, and you've forgotten again."
"She can't hear."
Xue Xiaoniu pushed Xue Erniu away and rubbed his ears.
Ah Li lowered her head and was about to leave when Xue Daniu handed her a steamed bun.
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